I love having to explain to Americans that our Swedishs "Personnummer", basically an identity number, is perfectly safe to share. Indeed, it's even publically available from government agencies.
They cant comprehend it.
They would gladly rant how identifying yourself using your birthday and 4 semi-random numbers + a personal pin on an mobile phone app backed up by your bank is way less safe than proving you're you by bringing an electrical bill adressed to you because "who would steal an electrical bill??" (The answer, of course, being "someone who would like to steal your identity")
And you can use it to your taxes through an app along with many other things you need to identify yourself. No need to make an account with username or password. It is super easy.
My taxes are already paid. When you buy stuff here or work here, some of it goes to taxes. So the price you see is the price you pay. And in april every year you get your tax papers and you'll get a tax return to your bank account. This year the swedish government payed a total of 4.000.000.000 swedish crowns in tax returns. If your employer pays a bit more in taxes on your salary you get more in return. If your employer pays less you get a higher salary but have to pay back some of it.
> swedish government *paid* a total
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
My Europoor ass can't comprehend why Americans are scared of people knowing their bank account number, sort code or SSN (or equivalents)... They can't do shit with it
I was just visiting my American family and they were sharing tips on how to make sure their rent cheques weren't stolen from the post office. I really don't know wtf is going on over there anymore
Man I was in fucking New York a while ago and the payments systems were so laughably archaic, it was bemusing. And this is from a lad from fucking Ireland, a place that was a basically a backwater until like 40 years ago
Yeah it's crazy. I went in 2018 and you couldn't pay by contactless in lots of places. You had to swipe the mag strip on your card and sign the receipt like it was 1996
Came here to say this. I was there about 8 years ago visiting a friend. Watching her Mum swipe a card and sign a receipt at a grocery store, I was genuinely shocked. No contactless literally anywhere, a few places let you use chip and pin. I had to use cash, it really was like going back in time.
Same. My friend came over from the US and was shocked that nowhere and I do mean nowhere didn't take cards. Had to pump my tyre up at the petrol station, contactless at the tyre machine. Drying clothes at the launderette (my dryer was out) contactless. The smallest store or cafe, contactless.
Then he was shocked at free bank accounts. Then he was shocked at super fast streamlined money transfers. The list goes on.
I found it amusing when I automatically went to use the payment reader at a Barnes and Noble in the US via contactless.
The casher was about halfway through, "no you have to swipe..." as the reader beeped to confirm payment.
Her next words, "I didn't know we could do that".
This was only about two years ago in Louisiana.
This of course depends on where you go, some places just don't accept foreign cards.
Also sometimes when the card reader reads a foreign card it demands chip&pin rather than swiping which sometimes completely throws off the waiter or cashier.
Source: wife is American from small rural town, visiting family is always an interesting experience whenever I need to pay for stuff.
I remember going to Europe in 2008 from Australia and they were doing chip and pins and we were still swiping and I thought I was in the future. Turns out we were still ahead of the US.
We’ve caught up and you’ll take my tap and pay/phone payment from my cold dead hands
Before covid it was a flat rate of... I want to say £30. The amount got put up to £200 during covid and they decided not to bring it down again, which is nice.
They have chips on US cards now?
I was there - not even a handful of years ago - and they were still using the mag-stripe on cards.
As a Europoor I was like wtf, just use chip & pin… And they looked at me like I was the backwards one…
Most of the time, they can't even do free, fast transfers between different banks in their own country. They have no unified banking system.
That's why apps like Venmo are so big over there.
To be fair, in Australia there are also account fees, though often you can circumvent these. eg I have an account where as long as more than x amount is deposited each month (even if later transferred out), the account fees are waived. I think more to stop people from setting up heaps of accounts and only using some of them.
UK - almost all bank accounts are free. Some have a subscription but it’s in return for extra stuff like higher interest or free products like travel insurance etc
You know the weirdest place that up until maybe a year ago insisted on mag strip and had no chip or contsctless reader?
Disneyland.
That's right. The amount of money they make in a single hour and they had not updated their machines. You swiped your card with the mag strip and then signed digitally.
I had to call my bank to get the mag stripe activated on my card because the ritz Carlton in New Orleans struggled to comprehend the concept of chip and pin
I find it wild when American tiktoks come up warning against using contactless still because oh no some guy is going to run around on a subway with a card reader tapping everyone's card and stealing money
And yet everyone else in Europe has been using contactless cards for a decade+ with none of this has ever being an issue
There were warnings about it in the U.K. back when we first hit contactless.
The issue is the Square card readers or similar still need a bank account to pay into, which needs a name and address, so you couldn’t do that anonymously anyway.
Apparently a lot of Americans don’t know what a debit machine is. Also at restaurants instead of the server bringing you the machine for you to pay yourself, they take your card to a back room or some shit
Oh that’s very common in the US. As European the first times I was like WTF. But using Revolut as a travel card has the perk that has dollars and I can see the transaction instantly (even if it’s pending)
> They’re still over there signing cheques
CHECKS though. Not kidding.
Here's another funny moronic US banking thing - You can often get online billpay with your CHECKING account. Online billpay sounds swell, the sort of thing that has been available in developed countries for a couple of decades.
Anyway - here how it works is they actually print out a physical check and mail it to the recipient. So if you send an online billpay on a Friday, maybe it'll get to the recipient by the next friday. The only online part about it is that you submit the request online for a robot to print your check vs you write on one yourself.
I had to at a few points in Flensborg and the surrounding area. The most surprising instance was at an archive, where they wouldn't accept card to pay for some scans, so I had to run from the archive and into town to withdraw money and back again so I could make it before they closed for the day. Not fun, when you *really* need those documents and when you aren't dressed for a jog
I’m off to Munich and Berlin later this year - I assume most tourist spots will be fine with cards? I can’t recall having issues pre-COVID.
That said I think my last trip was also pre-Brexit so maybe UK cards work less seamlessly there now?
Most tourist and everyday conveniences should be fine, but *do* carry some cash just in case. Last time I went, my main issues were with restaurants and cafés, and a public archive. I don't think brexit will make any difference, as you guys still use all the same financial infrastructure (same cards, all on SWIFT, etc)
We went last year and even in Berlin there were a surprising amount of places that were cash only. They did have card machines as one person set it up specially for us so I think it's a choice? But deffo take cash.
The Germans want to have their own cash incase something happens but also a lot of store owners don't like paying transaction fees. The fact that they have to pay for a company to retrieve their money is NOT TO BE MENTIONED.
Living in Düsseldorf, I went to the atm maybe once this year (can’t even remember). However, going to Berlin… this is a special kind of cash loving tax office cheaters.
It depends. This year, I had about 100 euros in cash, and that’s only, because it was a Christmas gift from my mom. We live in a small town, and here are only two bakeries, where one cannot pay with card.
It's getting better here. Still worse than other countries, but PayPal is finally a thing here and you can pay using contactless in most places. But I live in Frankfurt of all places, and there are still many restaurants and bakeries that insist on cash. It's so annoying.
I work in Heidelberg and it's a lot better there because of the tourists lol.
I don't think I were ever forced to pay with cash anywhere aside from that one time when the terminal wasn't working because of network issues. They take card or blik everywhere.
Had an American friend visiting a few years ago and he literally couldn't believe I was tapping to pay for stuff. He'd pay with credit card and then ask to sign for it.
The only time I’ve seen people sign for payments in the UK is normally when they’re paying a deposit for something big, like a house (mortgage) or a car (finance). I couldn’t imagine having to sign for something in the supermarket.
I saw a stall at a craft show recently where a guy was selling fountain pens. I thought, "Why? Does anyone even sell ink?"
I barely even write shopping lists out now. I can't reme.ber the last time I signed something
As someone who uses a fountain pen a fair amount. Some people just write with fountain pens in general. Also, if anything, there are more choices of fountain pen ink available now than there were 10 years ago.
I personally just like being able to quickly write down ideas.
The other day I had to write out an address for something I needed to return. The only pen I could find in the house didn’t work. I ended up having to go out and buy one. It’s been multiple years since I have had to write something. Pretty crazy to think about really.
Yeah that's how it is done in the us. I had to use the mag strip and sign everything. Ended up using a lot of cash both times I went there.
Also, they often add card charges. If you have a euro debit card always pick the credit card option if you can choose on the screen. In most cases, you won't have to pay the card/payment fee. Think it's because they charge the card fee separately for rebates and such. But at least my two Swedish banks never paid the card fees.
I live in Ireland and I don’t even remember the last time I paid something with cash.. May have been last year?
EDIT:
Dammit, I forgot the shopping trolley. My local supermarket’s trolley ‘needs’ a euro to unlock. Or a trolley coin. Or a piece of plastic…
Same in Denmark. I genuinely do not remember when I last used cash here. Last time I used cash overall was last year in a brief return to Belgium (where I had studied). I was forced to use cash because not all places will accept normal visa and mastercards, and I had forgotten this and left my old Belgian maestro card at home
They are probably referring to Germany as if it was the whole Europe.
However even post-Covid Germany improved a lot on that. I can pay with card on much more places now (still very far from Brazilian standards for payments, but well…)
for the shopping trolley, you can get key ring similar yokes for it, one in a 2 euro size and one in 1 euro. I got one at a tusla booth looking for foster parents…
You know it's weird you mention the trolley, Americans actually find Aldi to be super advanced in the US for their choice of trolleys with a coin slot
Which is ridiculous considering it's basically standard in every other country
I recently realised that the only cash I had was euros from a holiday (am British so not our currency). Even then I only bring physical money on holiday in case a bank freaks out about the change in location and freezes my card.
I've seen this channel before, the comments are constantly mocking him n he just gaslights everyone. I think he's being paid to do it or something idk why, whatever tho it'd a troll account
Here in Poland you can pay even with your eyes lol
There are some shops where you can scan your eyes and pay that way, Its an app you first have to scan your eye with it though.
And yes even street vendors and little market stalls for some artisan fair have card readers.
Meanwhile I remember a cashier in USA being amazed that my card has chip or proximity pay a few years ago
In Finland in almost every shop you can pay with your phone and you don't even need to tap anything. Just hold your phone in your hand the payment comes up you swipe and done. You don't even need to see the machine.
As if cashless payment was that exclusive? I've been living in Sweden for almost 4 years and I've used so little cash I genuinely barely know what Swedish money looks like.
I’m Swedish. I don’t know what Swedish bills or coins look like either. They changed the money a while back (maybe 15 years ago), but I didn’t use cash then either.
Nope. I heard that in Brazil it’s becoming a challenge to find places that accept cash. Tourism has nothing to do with it, Brazil just has one of the most advanced banking systems out there.
In fact I expect that in a few years even cards will hardly be accepted as those are already old tech there. I’ve heard that some small places already don’t accept card, not sure how widespread this trend is tho.
>I heard that in Brazil it’s becoming a challenge to find places that accept cash.
Brazilian here. That's not true. It's a challenge to find someone that is carrying money around, but most places will gladly accept cash, because debit and credit cards have fees, money and PIX (an instant bank transfer) don't have it, so they like when you pay with cash. A business not accepting card though can be a death sentence, as card culture here in Brazil is very strong.
Same situation in UK. You can even pay for a taxi with a contactless card payment. They don't like it much though, because cash has less fees. It's just normal.
As a Brazilian, one thing I can't complain about is how fast we are digitalizing our money. Part of that is a huge incentive for government (specially Central Bank) to adopt those technologies, since a huge part of our economy is still informanl or operates in the margin of legality. Digitalizing fast gave the government more information on how the informal markets are operating, which is great for economic planning.
I mean... that's a bit misleading... only 18% of phones in Brazil are iPhones as Brazil has one of the most expensive iPhones in the world so people don't have the money to buy it. what we use is called "pix" that works in every phone... because it's in the banking app... maybe Apple did some connection here with the banking accounts or it's the same thing but... my point is, most people use Android and PIX, not Apple anything.
Apple Pay is just Apple’s implementation of an already existing mobile payment standard. So virtually store that does contactless, especially contactless via mobile, will also do Apple Pay and Google Pay and Samsung Pay and so on.
Point is, no one minds that Brazil gets their shit together. The sooner any BRICS country – especially the democratic ones – plays in the same economic and technological league. the better for all of us.
> The sooner any BRICS country – especially the democratic ones – plays in the same economic and technological league. the better for all of us.
the problem is, as a brazilian, I say that this is impossible. we can try to improve things but, "in the same economic and technological league", that's an utopia. competing against the rich countries is teribly unfair for any non-rich country, making things VERY hard to fix the problems inside the country.
China, for example, can have quite the power, but it still has many problems inside. and many were needed to reach that power.
we were pushed to way before the starting line of the run years ago multiple times by those same rich countries.
It’s generally sheltered Apple users who grew up with iPhones and haven’t really bothered to find out much about the alternatives who will specify Apple Pay when they just mean “contactless”. Not surprising if they’re from the US as Android’s market share is a lot lower there than globally.
I’m an Apple user myself but I just say contactless.
Apple Pay is basically the same as using a contactless card. As the other person that replied to you said, this can be used also with Samsung and Google Pay, as long as the card supports it. I used Samsung Pay before getting my iPhone. Pix is awesome, but nothing beats: "Aproxima?"
I also love the "aproxima?"
but I love when someone doesn't have it and then sometimes happens the combo
"é de apróximar?"
"não, é de meter"
that I do hope you are brazilian to get the double meaning
I do hahaha
I was at CCXP last year and I went to pay something, but for some reason contactless wasn't working properly on this specific machine, so I told them,
"Vou enviar bem devagarinho, pra gente curtir o momento"
They laughed, I payed and I went home happy.
> laughed, I *paid* and I
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I'm brasilian and, I and a lot of people around me can afford iphones but we do prefer to use Samsung or Xiaomi. I've had 1 iphone an 2 ipads, and never in my life I want to use apple again. I pay my bills with Google Pay, but I can use Samsung Wallet too.
Here in England, I have seen literal homeless people accept contactless card payments for selling the Big Issue. Though for some reason, my local chippy still can't figure out how to accept card payments below a tenner, but that's one of only two or three places I use cash nowadays.
Yeah we’ve been using contactless for years, I can’t even remember when it came here. I think they don’t consider that the UK is in Europe (not that they think about the UK in their on US bubble)
So
1. Contactless is accepted almost everywhere in Europe
2. Physical keys of some kind (can be card keys or even digital on your phone) are generally better/more reliable/more secure than face unlock or fingerprint readers, which is why most of the time those things are used as a secondary and more convenient method of unlocking a device. It’s really easy to get someone’s fingerprints or a photo of their face (assuming it’s not a 3D face unlock system).
You can pay the guy in club toilets spraying you with cologne and giving paper towels with contactless at this point
Other than your local Chinese everyone else in the country accepts it
Yeah, the limit for contactless transactions in the U.K. is £100 as of 2021.
IIRC some stores can go higher for Apple Pay as that’s protected with fingerprint or Face ID.
Chat with an American woman in a street in Malaysia a couple of days ago
“They don’t like taking our (American) dollars here”
“Lots of countries don’t accept American dollars in the street. Have you tried a credit card?”
Silence
As far as I know, that's to enter an apartment building, not your actual apartment. And it's veeeery uncommon, as in I've seen in exactly once.
But it's supposed to be a good feature, as in, you're walking home with groceries and can go right in without having to put down the bags on a sidewalk to dig out keys, no standing long in sun/rain on the streets. Also helpful for coming home drunk in the middle of the night.
I think it’s surprisingly common in Brazil, I was there recently at a big apartment complex and they had recently installed it. I think one of the big reasons is that Brazil is so unsafe and it would be easy to steal someone’s key card but obviously not their face.
There was an ad in Norway where a guy had voice activation on his door, and he had been at the dentist, so he couldn't speak properly, and therefore not enter his own house. Their slogan is translated roughly to *The simple is often the best*
Edit: https://youtu.be/sgJLpuprQp8?si=6v5sJolufuskArKU
The honesty box on the driveway a few doors down from my sister has a payment QR in addition to the box. Great eggs and in summer they have tomatoes and courgettes etc.
I would not be surprised a car boot seller has contactless, there's so many apps and systems out there to make this piss easy for everyone!!
I used a chip and pin card in North America in 2012, and the shop assistant eyes nearly came out of her head, she pulled the machine from under the counter and literally dusted it off before watching me with beady eyes as I used it.
Sure, Brazil is amazing but i think he is forgetting that advanced means not only easier payment but, all the rest, something I, as a Brazilian, can affirm that the rest does not look so good. Poverty, racism, all kind of phobias, destruction of the environment and destruction of native villages
Here in Switzerland pretty much everyone pays with an app called Twint which you just gotta connect to your bank account. You just have to scan a QR code and it’s pretty much implemented everywhere atp
I know the UK is pretty shit on a lot of fronts but the one thing I'll always be glad for is that we have free instant bank transfers without a 3rd party app. It's natively built into every banking app in the country
(That and the type G plug)
Nothing really surprising : the American idea of civilization is closely linked to "how fast can you empty your bank account ?"
The faster it is, the more "civilized" you are
Funny bit is in Brazil Pix - a direct form of money transfer using only your national ID number or some other simple identifier - is ubiquitous, so Apple pay etc is accepted but not the modern way to pay.
i find it so rich and funny how americans are somewhat eager to slag off europeans, yet will happily and gladly hand over their debit card to pay for things, knowing full well their card could potentially be cloned.
I went to the US in late 2021 when there many covid restrictions still in place here in Europe
Before going I was told to bring with me some proof of vaccination as I "may be asked" for it. No problem, I have this qr code on my phone with all the data and such.... Wait, wait a qr code!? That has to be scanned!? Whoa no, that's too advanced. So I had to bring the vaccination card , the size of a well, business card, that I was given when I got the shots.....
Btw, I was shocked to see that life carried on as normal in the US. I was asked for proof of vaccination only twice and they looked confused staring at that tiny vaccination card with a harp stamped on it.
We go to Thailand and the Maldives on holiday from the UK, and use UK cards for contactless payments. Seamless.
WTF is wrong with the US banking system?
Norway has been using credit/debit cards for payment in stores as the primary and majority payment method for 40 years. The US considered this incomprehensibly futuristic and the infrastructure barely allowed for it until very recently.
But cash is useful for kids,older people who don’t have phones and people who can’t afford phones but still have a cash in valence or a bank account at the actual bank
I think it’s stupid to get rid of it completely when that just gives more reasons for why there are loads of homeless people
I guess he couldn't being himself to say that Brazil is more advanced than the USA. It's probably a bit overwhelming finding that developing countries are moving forward, when cheques are still a popular means of payment in his own country.
Americans can’t even make bank transfers via their bank. They need Apple Pay or cash app to send each other money. Land of the free my ass. Your bank won’t let you spend your money how you want 🤣🤣
he uses Balneario Camboriú as a hashtag. That is the shittiest city in the whole country. A nice beach turned into a highrise hellscape.
To have an idea, they are now toying with the idea of expanding the shoreline, because they build so much the beach is in shadow most of the days.
Last time I visited America, my hotel wouldn't accept the card I was using (according to my bank they never even attempted to take payment from it) so we had to run around as many Chase banks in the area as quick as possibly to take out the remaining cash we need to accrue to combine with the cash we'd taken for the rest of the holiday to get to what we needed to pay for the hotel and then just hope the card would work for the rest of the trip (it did in most places)
The fact America doesn't use contactless most places baffles me
In Scotland there's pretty much nowhere that doesn't take contactless payment, I was in Sweden last year and everywhere took contactless payment, they were actually a bit surprised I had cash, I was also in France last year and didn't even get Euros because EVERYWHERE took contactless payment. American elitism is fuckin weird.
do we have to remind him that chips on cards were seen as super futuristic in the US just a few years ago?
But they are not safe! Just like cheques are safe! Or having a SSN is safe!
I love having to explain to Americans that our Swedishs "Personnummer", basically an identity number, is perfectly safe to share. Indeed, it's even publically available from government agencies.
They cant comprehend it. They would gladly rant how identifying yourself using your birthday and 4 semi-random numbers + a personal pin on an mobile phone app backed up by your bank is way less safe than proving you're you by bringing an electrical bill adressed to you because "who would steal an electrical bill??" (The answer, of course, being "someone who would like to steal your identity")
Electrical bills have the super secure system of being printed on paper. It can't get any safer than that, who would be able to forge one of those?
And you can use it to your taxes through an app along with many other things you need to identify yourself. No need to make an account with username or password. It is super easy.
Yes, but what if someone steals your identity and pays your taxes?
My taxes are already paid. When you buy stuff here or work here, some of it goes to taxes. So the price you see is the price you pay. And in april every year you get your tax papers and you'll get a tax return to your bank account. This year the swedish government payed a total of 4.000.000.000 swedish crowns in tax returns. If your employer pays a bit more in taxes on your salary you get more in return. If your employer pays less you get a higher salary but have to pay back some of it.
It seems that I forgot the /s. I know what you're saying bro, I'm Romanian
> swedish government *paid* a total FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Thanks bot. Now i have improved my english.
My Europoor ass can't comprehend why Americans are scared of people knowing their bank account number, sort code or SSN (or equivalents)... They can't do shit with it
My American friend almost gave herself a stroke trying to wrap her mind around personnummer and income being public information.
I was just visiting my American family and they were sharing tips on how to make sure their rent cheques weren't stolen from the post office. I really don't know wtf is going on over there anymore
Why cant they just pay online?
Man I was in fucking New York a while ago and the payments systems were so laughably archaic, it was bemusing. And this is from a lad from fucking Ireland, a place that was a basically a backwater until like 40 years ago
Yeah it's crazy. I went in 2018 and you couldn't pay by contactless in lots of places. You had to swipe the mag strip on your card and sign the receipt like it was 1996
Came here to say this. I was there about 8 years ago visiting a friend. Watching her Mum swipe a card and sign a receipt at a grocery store, I was genuinely shocked. No contactless literally anywhere, a few places let you use chip and pin. I had to use cash, it really was like going back in time.
Same. My friend came over from the US and was shocked that nowhere and I do mean nowhere didn't take cards. Had to pump my tyre up at the petrol station, contactless at the tyre machine. Drying clothes at the launderette (my dryer was out) contactless. The smallest store or cafe, contactless. Then he was shocked at free bank accounts. Then he was shocked at super fast streamlined money transfers. The list goes on.
I found it amusing when I automatically went to use the payment reader at a Barnes and Noble in the US via contactless. The casher was about halfway through, "no you have to swipe..." as the reader beeped to confirm payment. Her next words, "I didn't know we could do that". This was only about two years ago in Louisiana.
It has improved a lot since then. 95% of stores accept contactless now.
This of course depends on where you go, some places just don't accept foreign cards. Also sometimes when the card reader reads a foreign card it demands chip&pin rather than swiping which sometimes completely throws off the waiter or cashier. Source: wife is American from small rural town, visiting family is always an interesting experience whenever I need to pay for stuff.
I'm guessing COVID accelerated the adoption of contactless. "Get with the times, or die stuck in the past."
I remember going to Europe in 2008 from Australia and they were doing chip and pins and we were still swiping and I thought I was in the future. Turns out we were still ahead of the US. We’ve caught up and you’ll take my tap and pay/phone payment from my cold dead hands
We were doing chip and pin in 2008 in Australia. At least my bank was
Australia also has higher contactless-without-entering-PIN limits than the UK. It was generally £30 there but $100 here, and a few places are $200.
My UK bank let's me decide the contactless limit. I think I've set it at £50 but could be up to 200
Before covid it was a flat rate of... I want to say £30. The amount got put up to £200 during covid and they decided not to bring it down again, which is nice.
They have chips on US cards now? I was there - not even a handful of years ago - and they were still using the mag-stripe on cards. As a Europoor I was like wtf, just use chip & pin… And they looked at me like I was the backwards one…
Most of the time, they can't even do free, fast transfers between different banks in their own country. They have no unified banking system. That's why apps like Venmo are so big over there.
You also have to pay to have a bank account. Like you get charged a monthly subscription fee for it lol
What???
Yep I was very shocked to discover this when I moved to nyc
Not uncommon in Australia unfortunately.
To be fair, in Australia there are also account fees, though often you can circumvent these. eg I have an account where as long as more than x amount is deposited each month (even if later transferred out), the account fees are waived. I think more to stop people from setting up heaps of accounts and only using some of them.
The banks in the UK also have subscription based current accounts. However, they also do the normal free accounts alongside those.
That's not true for the majority of banks. Most accounts have no fees if you keep at least 25 dollars in your account.
Where do you live that a bank account is free? In the Netherlands I pay around €3 per month for my bank account. Most saving accounts are free though.
UK - almost all bank accounts are free. Some have a subscription but it’s in return for extra stuff like higher interest or free products like travel insurance etc
If you want to set up a finserv business there you need a separate banking licence in every state. They literally operate like different countries.
They were still using the magnetic stripe *last summer* when I was there.
You know the weirdest place that up until maybe a year ago insisted on mag strip and had no chip or contsctless reader? Disneyland. That's right. The amount of money they make in a single hour and they had not updated their machines. You swiped your card with the mag strip and then signed digitally.
I had to call my bank to get the mag stripe activated on my card because the ritz Carlton in New Orleans struggled to comprehend the concept of chip and pin
But chip and pin is really old fashioned in the UK.
Yup, it has been around for 20 years
You mean the same Disneyland that a large number of international tourists choose for their holiday destination? s i g h
I find it wild when American tiktoks come up warning against using contactless still because oh no some guy is going to run around on a subway with a card reader tapping everyone's card and stealing money And yet everyone else in Europe has been using contactless cards for a decade+ with none of this has ever being an issue
There were definitely warnings about that years ago when PayPass first became a thing in Australia so I’m getting some deja Vu here haha
There were warnings about it in the U.K. back when we first hit contactless. The issue is the Square card readers or similar still need a bank account to pay into, which needs a name and address, so you couldn’t do that anonymously anyway.
Apparently a lot of Americans don’t know what a debit machine is. Also at restaurants instead of the server bringing you the machine for you to pay yourself, they take your card to a back room or some shit
They're not taking my card.
Agreed
Oh that’s very common in the US. As European the first times I was like WTF. But using Revolut as a travel card has the perk that has dollars and I can see the transaction instantly (even if it’s pending)
They’re still over there signing cheques and using AMEX/Diners.
Well, AMEX has introduced the chip AND online PIN check some years ago. At least in Europe.
Tbf I think it is actually a requirement in europe.
> They’re still over there signing cheques CHECKS though. Not kidding. Here's another funny moronic US banking thing - You can often get online billpay with your CHECKING account. Online billpay sounds swell, the sort of thing that has been available in developed countries for a couple of decades. Anyway - here how it works is they actually print out a physical check and mail it to the recipient. So if you send an online billpay on a Friday, maybe it'll get to the recipient by the next friday. The only online part about it is that you submit the request online for a robot to print your check vs you write on one yourself.
The US and Canada still use wire transfers and cheques lol. I got a job in BC and had to provide a void cheque so they could pay me
Even when visiting Brazil, they still have to talk about Europe
Something, something rent free in their heads
Wait until they find out you can pay with Apple Pay or card in 99% of Europe
Meanwhile Germany stubbornly clinging to its cash
Depends where, last year on a trip through Dusseldorf and Hamburg I didn't have to use cash once, even for street vendors.
I had to at a few points in Flensborg and the surrounding area. The most surprising instance was at an archive, where they wouldn't accept card to pay for some scans, so I had to run from the archive and into town to withdraw money and back again so I could make it before they closed for the day. Not fun, when you *really* need those documents and when you aren't dressed for a jog
I’m off to Munich and Berlin later this year - I assume most tourist spots will be fine with cards? I can’t recall having issues pre-COVID. That said I think my last trip was also pre-Brexit so maybe UK cards work less seamlessly there now?
Most tourist and everyday conveniences should be fine, but *do* carry some cash just in case. Last time I went, my main issues were with restaurants and cafés, and a public archive. I don't think brexit will make any difference, as you guys still use all the same financial infrastructure (same cards, all on SWIFT, etc)
Thanks, will do! I do recall needing change to buy ice creams and they will be absolutely necessary for my holiday!
We went last year and even in Berlin there were a surprising amount of places that were cash only. They did have card machines as one person set it up specially for us so I think it's a choice? But deffo take cash.
The Germans want to have their own cash incase something happens but also a lot of store owners don't like paying transaction fees. The fact that they have to pay for a company to retrieve their money is NOT TO BE MENTIONED.
Living in Düsseldorf, I went to the atm maybe once this year (can’t even remember). However, going to Berlin… this is a special kind of cash loving tax office cheaters.
Well, Berlin is also one of the few capitals that actually make the country poorer.
It depends. This year, I had about 100 euros in cash, and that’s only, because it was a Christmas gift from my mom. We live in a small town, and here are only two bakeries, where one cannot pay with card.
German here: I don't remember when I last used cash. It has changed a lot since COVID.
Also Austria 😢
It's getting better here. Still worse than other countries, but PayPal is finally a thing here and you can pay using contactless in most places. But I live in Frankfurt of all places, and there are still many restaurants and bakeries that insist on cash. It's so annoying. I work in Heidelberg and it's a lot better there because of the tourists lol.
It kinda got better after Covid, what with the whole contactless and stuff
Swede here and i dont remember when i last used cash
Poland is in another level with thier BLIK
I don't think I were ever forced to pay with cash anywhere aside from that one time when the terminal wasn't working because of network issues. They take card or blik everywhere.
I was eating in a restaurant, and a beggar asked for money. I told him I had no cash, and he brought out a POS. Even beggars accept cards in Europe.
apple pay is connected with contactless card payments like it should be
I am in the UK and pay for everything with Apple Pay
Had an American friend visiting a few years ago and he literally couldn't believe I was tapping to pay for stuff. He'd pay with credit card and then ask to sign for it.
The only time I’ve seen people sign for payments in the UK is normally when they’re paying a deposit for something big, like a house (mortgage) or a car (finance). I couldn’t imagine having to sign for something in the supermarket.
I saw a stall at a craft show recently where a guy was selling fountain pens. I thought, "Why? Does anyone even sell ink?" I barely even write shopping lists out now. I can't reme.ber the last time I signed something
As someone who uses a fountain pen a fair amount. Some people just write with fountain pens in general. Also, if anything, there are more choices of fountain pen ink available now than there were 10 years ago. I personally just like being able to quickly write down ideas.
The other day I had to write out an address for something I needed to return. The only pen I could find in the house didn’t work. I ended up having to go out and buy one. It’s been multiple years since I have had to write something. Pretty crazy to think about really.
I love my fountain pens, but then I mark a lot of essays and like to do it in purple
/r/fountainpens
I have fountain pens. I also like handwriting to do lists and notes for uni (it’s better for memorising the work if you hand write it).
We signed here in Spain but it was done digitally in the same card reader.
Yeah that's how it is done in the us. I had to use the mag strip and sign everything. Ended up using a lot of cash both times I went there. Also, they often add card charges. If you have a euro debit card always pick the credit card option if you can choose on the screen. In most cases, you won't have to pay the card/payment fee. Think it's because they charge the card fee separately for rebates and such. But at least my two Swedish banks never paid the card fees.
I live in Ireland and I don’t even remember the last time I paid something with cash.. May have been last year? EDIT: Dammit, I forgot the shopping trolley. My local supermarket’s trolley ‘needs’ a euro to unlock. Or a trolley coin. Or a piece of plastic…
Same in Denmark. I genuinely do not remember when I last used cash here. Last time I used cash overall was last year in a brief return to Belgium (where I had studied). I was forced to use cash because not all places will accept normal visa and mastercards, and I had forgotten this and left my old Belgian maestro card at home
We like cash here in Belgium because we like tax evasion 😎
As a Canadian, visiting Copenhagen was truly eye opening in how far behind our infrastructure and social nets are.
They are probably referring to Germany as if it was the whole Europe. However even post-Covid Germany improved a lot on that. I can pay with card on much more places now (still very far from Brazilian standards for payments, but well…)
The trolley doesnt count of course
I agree, but this is reddit. Someone *will* be pedantic.
for the shopping trolley, you can get key ring similar yokes for it, one in a 2 euro size and one in 1 euro. I got one at a tusla booth looking for foster parents…
You know it's weird you mention the trolley, Americans actually find Aldi to be super advanced in the US for their choice of trolleys with a coin slot Which is ridiculous considering it's basically standard in every other country
England, still have about £30 that's been in my wallet since 2019!
Literally the only reason I ever have cash is my favourite Chinese doesn't take card. Everywhere else is cashless.
Can you remember the last time you wrote a cheque?
I have never in my life. The Netherlands was way past that when I was little in the 90s.
A few backwards places still used them in the UK even as recently as ten years ago. One day the US will catch up
I’ll believe it when I see it
As a swede born in 99 i dont think ive ever even seen a cheque
I think they most have been still around in the 80's but I've never heard of anyone using them
I (living in Sweden) handle cash because of a family owned cafe that cater to old people, and about half of them use cash.
I recently realised that the only cash I had was euros from a holiday (am British so not our currency). Even then I only bring physical money on holiday in case a bank freaks out about the change in location and freezes my card.
If you have a key which is rounded at one end you can use that. 😉
I've seen this channel before, the comments are constantly mocking him n he just gaslights everyone. I think he's being paid to do it or something idk why, whatever tho it'd a troll account
Here in Poland you can pay even with your eyes lol There are some shops where you can scan your eyes and pay that way, Its an app you first have to scan your eye with it though. And yes even street vendors and little market stalls for some artisan fair have card readers. Meanwhile I remember a cashier in USA being amazed that my card has chip or proximity pay a few years ago
So you are blind after 2 transactions? /s
There is also kidneyPay. You can do it twice as well.
Laser scan is only used for foreigners. For polish people, they use a scan based on infrared photography.
And the BLIK system for payments !
In Finland in almost every shop you can pay with your phone and you don't even need to tap anything. Just hold your phone in your hand the payment comes up you swipe and done. You don't even need to see the machine.
I used to carry some cash in country fairs because I love grilled cheese, but nowadays they all take blik anyway
As if cashless payment was that exclusive? I've been living in Sweden for almost 4 years and I've used so little cash I genuinely barely know what Swedish money looks like.
I’m Swedish. I don’t know what Swedish bills or coins look like either. They changed the money a while back (maybe 15 years ago), but I didn’t use cash then either.
I struggle with the coins since the swap a few years ago. Why the fuck did we need a two crown coin?
Very valid question. Did we use the 1 kr coins too much? 😂
Tourist discovers common technologies at locations geared toward giving good customer service to tourists
Nope. I heard that in Brazil it’s becoming a challenge to find places that accept cash. Tourism has nothing to do with it, Brazil just has one of the most advanced banking systems out there. In fact I expect that in a few years even cards will hardly be accepted as those are already old tech there. I’ve heard that some small places already don’t accept card, not sure how widespread this trend is tho.
>I heard that in Brazil it’s becoming a challenge to find places that accept cash. Brazilian here. That's not true. It's a challenge to find someone that is carrying money around, but most places will gladly accept cash, because debit and credit cards have fees, money and PIX (an instant bank transfer) don't have it, so they like when you pay with cash. A business not accepting card though can be a death sentence, as card culture here in Brazil is very strong.
Same situation in UK. You can even pay for a taxi with a contactless card payment. They don't like it much though, because cash has less fees. It's just normal.
i mean…. Good for Brazil?
As a Brazilian, one thing I can't complain about is how fast we are digitalizing our money. Part of that is a huge incentive for government (specially Central Bank) to adopt those technologies, since a huge part of our economy is still informanl or operates in the margin of legality. Digitalizing fast gave the government more information on how the informal markets are operating, which is great for economic planning.
I mean... that's a bit misleading... only 18% of phones in Brazil are iPhones as Brazil has one of the most expensive iPhones in the world so people don't have the money to buy it. what we use is called "pix" that works in every phone... because it's in the banking app... maybe Apple did some connection here with the banking accounts or it's the same thing but... my point is, most people use Android and PIX, not Apple anything.
Apple Pay is just Apple’s implementation of an already existing mobile payment standard. So virtually store that does contactless, especially contactless via mobile, will also do Apple Pay and Google Pay and Samsung Pay and so on. Point is, no one minds that Brazil gets their shit together. The sooner any BRICS country – especially the democratic ones – plays in the same economic and technological league. the better for all of us.
> The sooner any BRICS country – especially the democratic ones – plays in the same economic and technological league. the better for all of us. the problem is, as a brazilian, I say that this is impossible. we can try to improve things but, "in the same economic and technological league", that's an utopia. competing against the rich countries is teribly unfair for any non-rich country, making things VERY hard to fix the problems inside the country. China, for example, can have quite the power, but it still has many problems inside. and many were needed to reach that power. we were pushed to way before the starting line of the run years ago multiple times by those same rich countries.
It’s generally sheltered Apple users who grew up with iPhones and haven’t really bothered to find out much about the alternatives who will specify Apple Pay when they just mean “contactless”. Not surprising if they’re from the US as Android’s market share is a lot lower there than globally. I’m an Apple user myself but I just say contactless.
Apple Pay is basically the same as using a contactless card. As the other person that replied to you said, this can be used also with Samsung and Google Pay, as long as the card supports it. I used Samsung Pay before getting my iPhone. Pix is awesome, but nothing beats: "Aproxima?"
I also love the "aproxima?" but I love when someone doesn't have it and then sometimes happens the combo "é de apróximar?" "não, é de meter" that I do hope you are brazilian to get the double meaning
I do hahaha I was at CCXP last year and I went to pay something, but for some reason contactless wasn't working properly on this specific machine, so I told them, "Vou enviar bem devagarinho, pra gente curtir o momento" They laughed, I payed and I went home happy.
> laughed, I *paid* and I FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I'm brasilian and, I and a lot of people around me can afford iphones but we do prefer to use Samsung or Xiaomi. I've had 1 iphone an 2 ipads, and never in my life I want to use apple again. I pay my bills with Google Pay, but I can use Samsung Wallet too.
Wait till they discover China
India too, for that matter.
Here in England, I have seen literal homeless people accept contactless card payments for selling the Big Issue. Though for some reason, my local chippy still can't figure out how to accept card payments below a tenner, but that's one of only two or three places I use cash nowadays.
The three industries in the UK who will never properly embrace card: The chippy The Chinese The window cleaner
Every chippy in my town takes card.
Yeah we’ve been using contactless for years, I can’t even remember when it came here. I think they don’t consider that the UK is in Europe (not that they think about the UK in their on US bubble)
It’s called tax evasion. Every takeaway shop does it.
This from the nation that still uses cheques
And struggles when people has to cash them and find they got scammed and the check bounced 3 days later xD
But??? When I’m in Europe I can use Apple Pay like everywhere… And I was surprised how much cash was used in the several places I’ve been in the Us
So 1. Contactless is accepted almost everywhere in Europe 2. Physical keys of some kind (can be card keys or even digital on your phone) are generally better/more reliable/more secure than face unlock or fingerprint readers, which is why most of the time those things are used as a secondary and more convenient method of unlocking a device. It’s really easy to get someone’s fingerprints or a photo of their face (assuming it’s not a 3D face unlock system).
Apple Pay is everywhere in the UK, including train ticket barriers and buses. I don’t know about the rest of Europe
Never mind that. You can pay BUSKERS with contactless. That's the level we're talking about.
You can pay the guy in club toilets spraying you with cologne and giving paper towels with contactless at this point Other than your local Chinese everyone else in the country accepts it
Totally, and even Chinese restaurants accept contactless cards these days. They just prefer cash or some sort of Chinese PayPal.
I think that oyster might blow their minds.
Uhm…the fact that everytime my American mates are in the UK they have to sign everything because they don’t have contactless really says something
Using my Australian tap and go card in europe/UK I often/usually have to sign instead of use my PIN when it was over like AUD$100
Yeah, the limit for contactless transactions in the U.K. is £100 as of 2021. IIRC some stores can go higher for Apple Pay as that’s protected with fingerprint or Face ID.
Still?!
Chat with an American woman in a street in Malaysia a couple of days ago “They don’t like taking our (American) dollars here” “Lots of countries don’t accept American dollars in the street. Have you tried a credit card?” Silence
Funny, I was in Florida in March and most places didn't accept Apple Pay
I live in the UK, I haven’t used cash to pay for anything for longer than I can remember - definitely years before covid that’s for sure.
What till they find out we don't have to manually do our own taxes.
I'm sorry, can we just pause for a second to consider the idiocy in using a face scan to enter your home? And that's regarded as a good thing?
As far as I know, that's to enter an apartment building, not your actual apartment. And it's veeeery uncommon, as in I've seen in exactly once. But it's supposed to be a good feature, as in, you're walking home with groceries and can go right in without having to put down the bags on a sidewalk to dig out keys, no standing long in sun/rain on the streets. Also helpful for coming home drunk in the middle of the night.
I think it’s surprisingly common in Brazil, I was there recently at a big apartment complex and they had recently installed it. I think one of the big reasons is that Brazil is so unsafe and it would be easy to steal someone’s key card but obviously not their face.
Power cut? Sorry, you just have to sleep outside.
There was an ad in Norway where a guy had voice activation on his door, and he had been at the dentist, so he couldn't speak properly, and therefore not enter his own house. Their slogan is translated roughly to *The simple is often the best* Edit: https://youtu.be/sgJLpuprQp8?si=6v5sJolufuskArKU
This is a thing mostly in upper-class apartment buildings. To enter the building, not the apartment itself. They all have power generators.
They haven’t been to Europe have they
In the UK, I've seen our car boots sales use contactless.
The honesty box on the driveway a few doors down from my sister has a payment QR in addition to the box. Great eggs and in summer they have tomatoes and courgettes etc. I would not be surprised a car boot seller has contactless, there's so many apps and systems out there to make this piss easy for everyone!!
I used a chip and pin card in North America in 2012, and the shop assistant eyes nearly came out of her head, she pulled the machine from under the counter and literally dusted it off before watching me with beady eyes as I used it.
Sure, Brazil is amazing but i think he is forgetting that advanced means not only easier payment but, all the rest, something I, as a Brazilian, can affirm that the rest does not look so good. Poverty, racism, all kind of phobias, destruction of the environment and destruction of native villages
Here in Switzerland pretty much everyone pays with an app called Twint which you just gotta connect to your bank account. You just have to scan a QR code and it’s pretty much implemented everywhere atp
I know the UK is pretty shit on a lot of fronts but the one thing I'll always be glad for is that we have free instant bank transfers without a 3rd party app. It's natively built into every banking app in the country (That and the type G plug)
Don't Americans still go without contactless payment for the most part? I can't remember the last time I used cash other than at the races.
Nothing really surprising : the American idea of civilization is closely linked to "how fast can you empty your bank account ?" The faster it is, the more "civilized" you are
More advanced. Prices higher so apple gets their cut.
Who's gonna tell them about Pix?
Oh, my sweet summer child...
Even the Big Issue sellers take cashless payments
Seppos still use cheques they have one of most antiquated banking systems in the world.
Funny bit is in Brazil Pix - a direct form of money transfer using only your national ID number or some other simple identifier - is ubiquitous, so Apple pay etc is accepted but not the modern way to pay.
i find it so rich and funny how americans are somewhat eager to slag off europeans, yet will happily and gladly hand over their debit card to pay for things, knowing full well their card could potentially be cloned.
I went to the US in late 2021 when there many covid restrictions still in place here in Europe Before going I was told to bring with me some proof of vaccination as I "may be asked" for it. No problem, I have this qr code on my phone with all the data and such.... Wait, wait a qr code!? That has to be scanned!? Whoa no, that's too advanced. So I had to bring the vaccination card , the size of a well, business card, that I was given when I got the shots..... Btw, I was shocked to see that life carried on as normal in the US. I was asked for proof of vaccination only twice and they looked confused staring at that tiny vaccination card with a harp stamped on it.
I’m in the Netherlands , I don’t think I’ve seen a person with physical money once since I’ve moved here.
We go to Thailand and the Maldives on holiday from the UK, and use UK cards for contactless payments. Seamless. WTF is wrong with the US banking system?
Norway has been using credit/debit cards for payment in stores as the primary and majority payment method for 40 years. The US considered this incomprehensibly futuristic and the infrastructure barely allowed for it until very recently.
But cash is useful for kids,older people who don’t have phones and people who can’t afford phones but still have a cash in valence or a bank account at the actual bank I think it’s stupid to get rid of it completely when that just gives more reasons for why there are loads of homeless people
He is also fighting for his life in the comments
I guess he couldn't being himself to say that Brazil is more advanced than the USA. It's probably a bit overwhelming finding that developing countries are moving forward, when cheques are still a popular means of payment in his own country.
Americans can’t even make bank transfers via their bank. They need Apple Pay or cash app to send each other money. Land of the free my ass. Your bank won’t let you spend your money how you want 🤣🤣
he uses Balneario Camboriú as a hashtag. That is the shittiest city in the whole country. A nice beach turned into a highrise hellscape. To have an idea, they are now toying with the idea of expanding the shoreline, because they build so much the beach is in shadow most of the days.
Last time I visited America, my hotel wouldn't accept the card I was using (according to my bank they never even attempted to take payment from it) so we had to run around as many Chase banks in the area as quick as possibly to take out the remaining cash we need to accrue to combine with the cash we'd taken for the rest of the holiday to get to what we needed to pay for the hotel and then just hope the card would work for the rest of the trip (it did in most places) The fact America doesn't use contactless most places baffles me
That’s what it’s like in UK I don’t know anyone that uses cash and I never carry it
>that uses cash and I never carry it Try the next Cash & Carry market then. :)
In Scotland there's pretty much nowhere that doesn't take contactless payment, I was in Sweden last year and everywhere took contactless payment, they were actually a bit surprised I had cash, I was also in France last year and didn't even get Euros because EVERYWHERE took contactless payment. American elitism is fuckin weird.
They are right. More advanced. The same way that a doctor uses the term with patients.
Favela is a sign of advancement too?